Math & Technology

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SILLY SENSOR Scientists created a pressure sensor by mixing graphene into polysilicone, a stretchy, viscous goo, forming a gray putty, as shown by study coauthor Jonathan Coleman of Trinity College Dublin. Polysilicone is also found in the children’s toy Silly Putty, shown by Coleman’s son Oisin.

AMBER/Trinity College Dublin

SUPER JUMPER A little robot named Salto is an agile jumper that relies on a twisted latex spring to gain extra height. One day, robots like it could bound across rubble in search-and-rescue operations.

Stephen McNally and Roxanne Makasdjian/UC Berkeley

NUMBER SMARTS Cats show quantity-­related abilities. Without training, cats can pick out differences between groups of a few small objects, such as 2 versus 5, but the felines may be using visual shortcuts.